What Is It Actually Like To Have A Child Model?
We recently spoke to Annita, whose 2-year-old Goldie unintentionally fell into the world of child modelling over a year ago. So, we had to find out what it’s really like to have a young child in the industry.
It all started when a friend of Annita’s got her youngest daughter Goldie to participate in a photoshoot. The next thing she knew, Goldie was signing up to a talent agency. After many of her friends that already had kids in the industry recommended agencies, Annita knew she had nothing to lose and everything to gain from signing Goldie up for more opportunities.
What came next was definitely unexpected, as within a couple of months Goldie had landed a job with the well-known Australian brand Best & Less. From there the work just continued coming in over the next year and now Goldie has worked for a range of brands from Country Road and Bonds to Tutu Du Monde and Sheridan.
Annita loves being on set with Goldie and watching the production unfold. Toddlers on the other hand are less likely to be on their best behaviour every day. She says that as long as Goldie sleeps well the night before, she loves being on set and has a great time. However, toddlers are known as being unpredictable so you never really know what the kids will be like on the day.
When asked what her favourite shoot was, Annita knew straight away that Goldie’s Bonds shoot was her absolute number #1. This was mainly because she was in the front window throughout many Bonds stores; an amazing achievement for someone so little.
For many, the industry isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. The entertainment industry is known for being notoriously unpredictable with only a few days’ notice before the kids need to be one set, which can be difficult when you have a young family.
The most difficult aspect for Annita is finding the time, as her family gets busier, to take Goldie to shoots, and working around the children’s sleeping schedules when organising shoots. However, she does give props to all teams on set as they have never been anything but accommodating to the little ones on set. She also admires the amount of effort that goes into the productions and shoot, pointing it out as something people might not be aware of unless they are actually in the industry - “The preparation that goes into actually doing the shoot, I would never have known about it had I not been here with Goldie.”
Even though the title of ‘child model’ has been given to Goldie, Annita will only ever be able to just think of her as Goldie, as every parent would. To her, she is just a kid and she often doesn’t discuss the work Goldie does with others, in reality, she is no different to her two sisters.
While she does assume that Goldie might find some of her shoots to be a little embarrassing as she gets older, they are amazing memories to look back on one day. The entertainment industry, especially for children can be busy and chaotic, but so much fun at the same time. Annita can only describe the experience as rewarding. Considering everything that goes into the shoots, the whole experience and the end result is rewarding.
Even though she isn’t sure when Goldie’s time as a model will be up, they are going to play it by ear and as long as they have the time and Goldie is happy, they will continue to be a part of the industry.
If Annita could pass on any advice to parents wanting to join the industry it would be to “go for it”, if they want to do it, there really is no reason not to try. The main thing is that the kids have fun.
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